Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Whatevs...

I wish I could have some thoughts, but they just aren't coming. Has anyone been watching the Republican Convention? I just can't. It's too depressing. Keep the dialogue going in that wonderful, random scream...er...stream of conscience way we do.

By the way, is anyone playing the new Pokemon Go game? If you are...stop it. Stop it now. Let's discuss.

76 comments:

Not a mobile gamer so I don't understand the mindset (right now I'm playing Overwatch, Prison Architect and Valkyria Chronicles on PS4) but I think like with most other games mobile games are mostly just harmless timekillers (provided one isn't driving while playing or walking through Arlington Cemetary or something).

Breitbart is becoming a champion of civility in public discourse in that they are highlighting leftists who have said horribly evil stuff on Twitter and not been banned (let alone permabanned) like Milo :) .

Of course, they continue to mischaracterize what Milo did, but they aren't wrong about there being lots of other jerks on Twitter who deserve the same treatment.

Wanting to kill a bereaved mother because she said hard stuff about your political candidate of choice is incredibly awful. You would think both Twitter and GQ would get rid of that person.

GQ journalist Nathaniel Friedman, who goes by the pen name of Bethlehem Shoals, has apologized after tweeting that he would like to beat Pat Smith, the mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith, to death. “I don’t care how many children Pat Smith lost I would like to beat her to death,” he tweeted on Monday, eventually deleting the post after tremendous backlash.

Predictably, Shoals was not sanctioned by Twitter for the blatant violation of their terms of service, despite the company’s decision to permanently suspend Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos last night for offending Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.

What appears to be an accidental shooting in North Miami. No one died and medical assistance was called promptly. Hopefully this doesn't turn into anything. The last thing we need is more fuel on the fire.

Like I said earlier, terrorists killing cops makes for nervous cops, which is bad for everybody.

New video out of North Miami shows an unarmed black man moments before and after he was shot by police while lying in the street with his hands up.

Behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey, 47, is recovering in an area hospital after being shot in the leg three times during the incident, which took place on Monday.

According to local Fox station WSVN, police were called to the scene by someone who said there was a man in the street with a gun threatening suicide. However, when officers arrived, Kinsey was trying to help a 23-year-old autistic patient who had run out of a group home and into the street with a toy truck in his hands.

On the video, Kinsey could be heard explaining to police that the autistic man was holding a toy truck and that neither of them was armed. -------------“When he shot me, it was so surprising. It was like a mosquito bite,” Kinsey told WSVN from his hospital bed. “And when he hit me, I’m like, I still got my hands in the air. I said, ‘You know, I just got shot.’ And I’m saying to them, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ And his words to me, he said, ‘I don’t know.’”

After the shooting, Kinsey was handcuffed and left in the road until an ambulance arrived, his attorney, Hilton Napoleon, told NBC Miami.

Police said in a statement given to the Miami Herald that they “attempted to negotiate with the two men on the scene” and that “at some point during the on-scene negotiation, one of the responding officers discharged his weapon.” Authorities have not released the name of the officer or offered any additional details, other than to state that he had been placed on leave while the incident was investigated.

I didn't see Cruz's speech, but he is a turd. So I'm not surprised it didn't go well.

As for Twitter, Twitter has become a place where the truly hateful get to spew their psychoses. You should check out the NFL Commissioner's page some time. The hate he gets is stunning. It's worse than the crap leftists spew at Trump.

Ya know, looking around... I don't see a lot of discussion of Cruz today. Outside of the wonky sites, he's basically nonexistent. And even inside the wonky sites, he's sharing the headlines with several other stories today. Believe it or not, I'm seeing more discussion of Michael Moore predicting a Trump win. If I had to guess, it either means that (1) people have by and large moved on from the primaries, or (2) Cruz is just too odious for people to want to approve of the things he does, even if it suits their cause.

From the stories I've read so far, it sounds as if police opened fire because the autistic man did not comply with orders (naturally), and hitting his caregiver was unintentional. Which suggests they were aiming for the autistic man.

As the parent of an autistic child, I'm disturbed that police opened fire on an autistic person. Better tools and procedures need to be developed to assess situations beyond simply getting everyone to lie on the ground, because that crude approach nearly got a disabled person killed.

Now, I will grant that the police couldn't have immediately known the man was autistic, but they were responding to a suicide call. What sense does it make to shoot at someone threatening to commit suicide?

But this story will probably be made about race and the fact that an autistic man was nearly shot will go unnoticed.

You're told a guy wants to kill himself. Ok. I get why you're cautious because he could easily turn the gun on himself. That's why they might draw their guns when they arrive.

But when they get there and they see the therapist telling them the score and they can see (very clear in the photos) that the autistic man is holding a toy truck, why keep pointing the gun at anyone?

And then why shoot the therapist whose hands are up in the air?

This is bizarre.

There are only two things that I can think to explain this. (1) The cops were terrified that this was an ambush. (2) One of the cops was freaked out (or high) and he heard the word "don't shoot" and he acted on the word "shoot."

I don't know, but this is disturbing all around.

And that's not to diminish your point. There have been several instances I can remember where police injured or killed someone who was autistic because they didn't comply with the officer's demands. That shouldn't happen.

Anthony, I remember an autistic man who was choked to death by police (I think in Texas) after they cuffed him because he "wasn't following orders." (He was freaking out because he couldn't breathe.) And I recall at least two unarmed mentally handicapped people who were shot because they wouldn't comply with orders to lie down.

All kidding aside, as much as I'd love to make fun of my friends (people in their 30s) for playing it, I can't, on account of my own nerdy hobbies. Believe me, there's only a thin line between playing a silly game and buying a film score for the third time because they found an extra 10-second piece of music to include!

At least Pokemon is getting people outside, which is more than I can say for anything I'm into!

Ted Cruz's move seems to have gone down well among a big chunk of the conservative anti-Trump writers (whose thinking on the matter mirrors my own initial reaction).

The fact Trump knew what Cruz was going to say makes the whole thing really strange.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/438159/i-choose-ted

There are two things to say about that. First, many of these people are willingly buying into Manafort’s stagecraft. The Trump team knew about the speech beforehand. The outrage on the floor may have ended up being genuine, but it started out manufactured. I understand that Chris Christie will spew whatever fake outrage his masters instruct, like a trained seal barking for another herring. But I don’t see why so many supposedly seasoned political observers are volunteering for service.

Second, what the hell are people talking about? This is part of the corruption of Trump. He called Ted Cruz a liar every day and in every way for months (it used to be considered a breach in decorum to straight up call an opponent a liar, never mind use it as a nickname). The insults against his wife, the cavalier birtherism, the disgusting JFK-assassination theories about his dad: These things are known. And yet the big conversation of the day is Ted Cruz’s un-sportsmanlike behavior? For real? But forget Cruz for a moment. For over a year, Trump has degraded politics in some of the most vile ways. His respect for the Republican party as the home of conservatism is on par with Napoleon’s respect for churches when he converted them into stables.

But that’s okay because he’s Trump. He’s a “winner.” And now that he’s the nominee, the Smart Set and the Mob is telling me that Cruz is the outrageous violator of norms and good manners. Let’s all look down our noses at the sore loser everybody, as we bend the knee and make every apology possible for the sorest, most ungracious winner in American history. When I watch Trump’s kitchen cabinet of yes men rise from their “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” prostrations just long enough to talk about Cruz’s self-interestedness, I have to laugh. Where’s your shinebox, Governor Christie?

Secondly, you have me wrong on Pokemon. It looks like a fun game and I have no problems with anyone playing it. BUT... with people walking off cliffs, walking into traffic, climbing into tiger cages, and getting robbed/murdered at Pokemon Lures, this sucker is all about Darwinism.

Those who don't know to pay attention where they are walking and those who think nothing of walking into a crackhouse to get an elusive Peekacho will leave the gene pool and the human race will be stronger for it.

Pokemon Go is a very clever and much needed attempt to reintroduce Darwinism into the human race and I'm all for it.

Andrew - that is so true!

Allena - It is just fine to play the game, but there are people who are running around at the Holocaust Museum, Arlington Cemetary, 9/11 Museum, and are breaking into graveyards, falling off cliffs and crashing cars, and actually, a defense attorney during a conference before a sitting judge! It is Darwinian. Just be careful.

With the RNC, I've been getting some good mileage out of my posters. I swore I wouldn't go political but since people on both sides dislike Trump, it's fair game.

Tuesday - NetworkYesterday - IdiocracyToday - Bob RobertsTomorrow - Duck Soup, wherein I'll incorporate the lyric: "The last man nearly ruined this place he didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country's bad off now, just wait till I get through with it!"

For the DNC next week, I'd like to do Crimes and Misdemeanors, Wag the Dog (thanks, Andrew!), and maybe One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next.

Roger Ailes has resigned from Fox and is being replaced by Rupert Murdoch. Liberals seem to be happy (it is striking how silent most conservative websites were in the days leading up to this) but unless there is a spate of resignations, I don't think this will hurt Fox News or help CNN or MSNBC.

New York, NY – July 21, 2016 – 21st Century Fox today announced that Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and Chairman of Fox Television Stations, has resigned from his role effective immediately.

Rupert Murdoch will assume the role of Chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman, 21st Century Fox, said:

“Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country. Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years.

Fox News has given voice to those who were ignored by the traditional networks and has been one of the great commercial success stories of modern media.

It is always difficult to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies. To lead a flourishing news channel, and to build Fox Business, Roger has defied the odds.

His grasp of policy and his ability to make profoundly important issues accessible to a broader audience stand in stark contrast to the self-serving elitism that characterizes far too much of the media.

I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice. Our nation needs a robust Fox News to resonate from every corner of the country.

To ensure continuity of all that is best about Fox News and what it stands for, I will take over as Chairman and acting CEO, with the support of our existing management team under Bill Shine, Jay Wallace and Mark Kranz.”

Is 'no change from Obama' what Republicans should be hoping for in 2016?

Also, last I heard the US was building a missile shield with Poland. That being said, I remember when Obama foolishly cancelled system because he didn't want to offend Putin (like Bush Obama eventually realized Putin was not his friend and never would be).

Clearly whatever is in Putin's cologne makes incoming presidents fall head over heels for him.

I suspect Trump would eventually have the same epiphany his predecessors did if he won in November.

The U.S. launched a new ground-based missile defense system in Romania Thursday, sparking fresh tensions with Russia, which quickly blasted the system as a threat to its security.

The system, to be operated by NATO, is getting up and running nearly a decade after the U.S. first announced plans to do so, only to encounter pushback from Russia. The U.S. has long insisted that the shield is directed against rogue states like Iran and not intended to target Moscow's missiles, but Russian officials have slammed the move as an "attempt to destroy the strategic balance" in Europe.

"The United States' Aegis ashore system is declared certified for operations," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday at the ceremony launching the system.

"Missile defense is for defense," he added. "It does not undermine or weaken Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent."

Anthony - Don't get me wrong. I do not like Trump at all. And I have never been surprised by anything that has come out of his mouth. Which is why I don't like him at all. He will say anything to be front and center in the media. He even tweeted yesterday about how "there is no bad publicity". However, people are eating it up! I just don't get it at all.

"Let's recap the actual Cruz speech:1. Congratulated Trump, confirmed he won and was the GOP nominee.2. Told people NOT to stay home in November speaking mostly to anti-Trumpers including some of his own fans!3. Explained the importance of the GOP platform and conservative principles.4. Scorched the record of Hillary Clinton and said she was unfit for office and antithetical to our principles.5. After making the contrasts, congratulating the nominee and explaining the importance of showing up to vote he adds that people should vote their conscience up and down the ticket! Their conscience obviously meaning for most conservative principles and against Hillary!

Summary, without saying magic words "I endorse Donald Trump" he supported him as the party nominee and urged everyone to vote GOP up and down the ticket to keep Hillary out of office. "The pledge" was to support the candidate, not endorse him. He followed through with his pledge despite never receiving an apology from Trump for trashing him, his wife and calling his father a Kennedy assassin. That is gracious and magnanimous of Cruz.

The historic precedence for this was Reagan not overtly endorsing Ford but still supporting the ticket and platform.

Cruz's speech was the first of the convention other than Donald Jr's to make me feel like I had a good reason to feel good about voting Trump instead of holding my nose. Cruz should have been praised for such a uniting speech but instead a small portion of the stupid crowd didn't see that as support and unity. Instead they needed magic words and ring kissing of the candidate rather than overt support for the entire party and the constitution. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

The only person who got it right on the news last night was Newt Gingrich. That makes me sad. So in what could have been the most remarkable speech for unity (if they had just declared it that way) they made more division for lack of magic words. They said the guy who smashed Hillary was supporting her... It's madness. I now believe there are Trumpists who don't want to win and want to build a scapegoat for what they see as an eventuality of a loss.

I still want to beat Hillary and I still want to win the Senate. We must be smarter and look for the unity and victory where we can find it. The uniting of the party comes from the top down. The nominee needs to step up now."

Honestly, what Trump did was brilliant in a fashion. Cruz got suckered, but he didn't have to play the sucker one last time.

Trump created a kerfuffle about loyalty by hinting at being disloyal. He got everyone to take a pledge. That set the stage for a "Lyin' Whoever."

Trump, with an early lead, picked an unlikely middle-of-the-pack guy to buddy up to. He and Cruz did their joint protest of the Iran deal. This focused voters toward a candidate other than Bush or Rubio for the eventual 1-on-1 showdown.

For a season, Trump left Cruz alone and Cruz returned the favor. Trump drew fire and Cruz got to appear above the fray. Cruz's mistake? Believing it was for real.

By December, Trump is dropping hints that he could turn on Cruz. Cruz fails to respond.

Going into the Iowa Caucuses, the firebrand and the saint are polling neck-and-neck. Trump can't win a caucus; that's insider stuff. But he can accuse the pious victor of impiety.

Cruz shows his angry side. The shift in demeanor lends credence to the moniker "Lyin' Ted." The campaign response slogan, trusTED, backfires out the gate.

Fast forward through summer and Trump has clinched the nomination. Cruz could decline to go to the convention, staying home to lick his wounds--some self-inflicted, some inflicted on him. Instead, being the egoist who believed his rise in the primaries was his own doing, he had to take one last stab at the man who he thinks ruined him.

But Cruz, however unwittingly, allowed Trump to lift him, and when you allow someone to lift you, you allow them to drop you as well. Not a smart move in politics. Cruz is just one of many political tragedies.

A US Congresswoman (Democrat) made a video of her husband nude and wearing makeup in which one of her kids made a brief appearance. She also took a topless selfie. Of course it is online. She blames her political enemies.

Did they make the family strip and ingest PCP at gunpoint?

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/stacey-plaskett-sex-tape-225951

After being contacted by the media, Plaskett released a statement acknowledging the video and photos were real. She said her political enemies were behind the incident.“The theft and distribution of these personal images via the internet marks a new low in Virgin Islands politics. I am shocked and deeply saddened that someone would stoop to such a level as to invade my marriage and the love of my family in an attempt to besmirch me politically,” Plaskett said.“Private photographs shared between my husband and me, as well as a private playful video of our family, including one of our children, were illegally obtained and disseminated via the internet. To say my family and I are greatly upset would be a tremendous understatement," Plaskett added. "As a mother I am outraged that one of my children was exploited in such a way. The theft and dissemination of these images via the internet is a shockingly disgusting invasion of my family’s and my privacy - not to mention criminal acts in violation of both territorial and federal law."

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,This other Eden, demi-paradise,This fortress built by Nature for herselfAgainst infection and the hand of war,This happy breed of men, this little world,This precious stone set in the silver sea,Which serves it in the office of a wall,Or as a moat defensive to a house,Against the envy of less happier lands,This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,Renowned for their deeds as far from home,For Christian service and true chivalry,As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,Dear for her reputation through the world,Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,Like to a tenement or pelting farm:England, bound in with the triumphant seaWhose rocky shore beats back the envious siegeOf watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:That England, that was wont to conquer others,Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,How happy then were my ensuing death!

If Trump wins (which I view as very likely), then Cruz is an outcast for at least 8 years and the GOP elite will try to rid themselves of of this petulant prick. (Richard II)

If Trump loses... then Cruz joins Santorum as a love of convenience that no one wants to take the next dance. He has mistaken his position of "Anybody but Trump" for "They like me, they really like me."

Moreover, keep this simple fact about human nature in mind. Traitors are lavished with praise by the opposition when they commit their treachery, but are never trusted again by either side. This has been true historically for political traitors, spies, military traitors, whistleblowers, etc. There is an assumption that if you are willing to betray your own kind, then you will be betray "us" even more easily.

Eric, It looks like it's doing a smidge better than Tarzan, so it wouldn't surprise me if it hit $120-$130 million worldwide. Its budget is $144 million. And to that as a rule of thumb, you need to add the same amount again for marketing costs. So they are probably $280 million into this film (though their costs are probably higher in this case). Look for a quiet write-off the balance sheets around tax time next year.

I think Cruz is toast too, but I think he is no more toasted than he was before the speech. He long positioned himself as an outsider in order to win the 2016 primary, but was beaten by a guy who positioned himself as even more of an outsider.

No matter what happens with Trump I doubt Cruz will be the next Republican nominee because he will still have the same problem of being too much of an outsider for some and not being outsider enough for others.

Charles Kinsey, a mental health caregiver, was shot in the leg as he lay in the middle of the street next to his 24-year-old client, who is said to be autistic and wandered away from the Miami Achievement Center for the Developmentally Disabled.

Kinsey shouted to officers, who had their weapons drawn after receiving a 911 call about a man with a gun, that the object his client was holding was not a gun, but a toy truck.

“This is not a case of a rogue cop,” said PBA President John Rivera. “This is not a case of police abuse. This is a case where a police officer was trying to save Mr. Kinsey’s life and, unfortunately, his shot went astray.”

The PBA maintains that the officer involved, a decorated member of the SWAT team, did not hear what Kinsey was saying. They said the officer thought that the autistic man Kinsey was trying to get out of the street was attempting to harm Kinsey.

That's exactly how it appeared to me at the outset, and it makes me just sick for a number of reasons.

First, because my daughter is autistic, I'm subscribed to a number of outlets that report news of interest to the community. Once a month, at least, there is a story of a police interaction gone awry that never makes national headlines. Not to play "my grievance is bigger than yours" but it is disheartening that the only reason this particular instance got as much notice is because a black man was shot by accident instead.

Second, the outrage that was sparked is still not because of the egregiousness of police opening fire on a mentally disabled man who was not posing a threat to anyone. The outrage is tied to "unarmed black man" and "hands up don't shoot" probably because the outraged think they found a real example of it. (Yes, they kinda did, but in a more holistic sense, they didn't.)

Third, I don't know the first thing about police training, but appearances make it seem that there is too little emphasis on assessing a situation before taking action to control it. In other words "shoot first, ask questions later." A proper assessment of a situation reveals the best means of controlling it. Otherwise, you merely risk injecting more chaos.

And of course it rattles me because I think of my daughter. In spite of everything, police are not trained to shoot people because they are black. Police are, however trained to shoot people because they aren't compliant.

Hey, are we laying bets as to who Hills is going to pick as VP? I wager that whomever it is will be the MSM and Dems will hail him/her/it as "the best choice that any candidate has ever made ever in the entire history of the US including when Washington chose Adams!" For which the Right will scream that "Washington didn't CHOOSE Adams! He came in second!" Oh, never mind...

Bev, no worries. I actually heed the warning that is on the screen, unlike some players.There's always some peopke that will walk off cliffs or into tiger cages or whatever despite all the warnings not to. I don't fault the game makers for that.IMO the media is blowing the stupidity of some people (who will remain stupid regardless) way out of proportion.As if on cue, there are more idiots blaming the game for the stupidity of the stupid.Next, they will blame fire when these idiots burn themselves by touching it. I really won't be surprised if even more idiots call for a ban on this game because of idiots being idiots,I really don't have time to play very often anyway. I spend more time putting on my makeup, lol.

Irt the shooting in Florida (and the shootings of autistic people who don't "comply"): Who freaking trains these officers? This should never happen, and if officers are being trained to shoot if unarmed people don't comply, they are being trained wrong and it needs to stop! Now, if an unarmed person attacks an officer than yes, the officer ,ay be justified to shoot, but the shooting in Florida is completely unjustified and police PR people are doing them no favors trying to justify it.Police training has needed a serious overhaul for years anyway. There is too much emphasis on paranoia, and not enough on basic psychology.Cops would get more value out of watching Dragnet.

"According to a CNN/ORC instant poll, 56% of voters who watched Trump's speech said they were more likely to vote for the Manhattan billionaire. Thirty-two percent said his speech had little effect, and 10% said they were less likely to vote for him."

Allena - I think that the whole "ban" thing is silly. If we could ban things because there are people being stupid, all we would have left to do is sit quietly and stare at a blank wall. But then we'd have to ban the wall because someone bumped into it. Just don't walk out into moving traffic or off a cliff. We like having you here!

Anthony - Bernie maybe or Michael Bloomberg...his name hasn't come up, but. Don't know if he would have the ego to be just VP, but he's certainly has the $$$$$$$. And who doesn't like a politician who wants to ban stuff!

I don't think Hillary would go with Bloomberg unless there was some threat of her losing New York. That said, he'd be a better move than any of the other names being floated. Any of the other VP picks stand to lose Hillary as many voters as they would gain. Bernie might be the worst, actually, because it would just confirm to his supporters that the system is rigged while also showing Bernie to be a sell-out. Talk about voter suppression!

Hillary is now looking at Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, another battleground state. So far, she's flirted with someone from each battleground state except Florida and Ohio. That tells me it will be Lebron. ;)

A North Miami police commander has been suspended for allegedly fabricating information about the shooting of an unarmed black therapist.

City Manager Larry Spring Jr. said Friday that commander Emile Hollant is suspended without pay. Spring declined to give specifics about how Hollant allegedly fabricated information about Monday's shooting of Charles Kinsey by Officer Jonathan Aledda.

Aledda has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated. His race has not been released.

Kinsey was trying coax an autistic man back to a group home when he was shot in the middle of an intersection. He says he was on the ground with his hands in the air when he was shot. Cellphone video shows him with his hands raised moments before the shooting.

A union official has said the officer was aiming for the autistic man because he thought he was a threat, but the officer missed and hit the therapist.

For some weird reason ya'll were blocked at work today. I got an IT Warning block that said this site was forbidden due to SEX...what the heck have ya'll been talking about today? I'm gonna have to peruse every word now..

A think maybe it was all those bare naked bums in the second picture on the home page...I still have one of those USAF aircrew leather name tags that I had made up one night in a fit of drunkenness....it says, Crotch Rot, TSgt, TN ANG.

But here's the problem. I think he was a check-box choice whose appeal is overstates to the boxes and who is otherwise boring as sh*t.

Indeed, I've never seen evidence that blacks are excited by white politicians no matter what church they attend, or that Hispanics are excited by honkeys who speak Mexican. Foreign policy is as relevant to voters as high school grades. And squeaky clean means boring.

The real problem is this. Hillary's ticket is about as dull and unpleasant as possible. She just added a shade of gray to her campaign. What's more, the role of VP is to draw lightening. Kaine is too dull for that.

So it sounds like she picked a guy using a questionnaire and she ended up with a guy who is her image negative but who wouldn't draw interest if he was shooting up a 7-11.

Smarter choices would have been an Hispanic (Perez), a woman (Warren), a total surprise (shows the spontaneity Hillary lacks), someone gay (progressive cred), or a celebrity to compete with Trump's Q factor.

I think picking Kaine shows that (1) she's afraid of risks, (2) she's disingenuous about being a progressive, and (3) she still worries that whites, males, and noncriminals don't trust her.

One more thing, this pick continues to show her tin ear for the public.

She wanted to steal Trump's momentum. Hence, she announced the day after the convention. BUT... she picked a late Friday night (when companies dump bad news so it gets lost over the weekend... "the Friday night dump").

What's more, it's hot as hell, so people aren't thinking. And the attack in Germany is sucking the little attention people are paying.

Further, the energy of a convention rises to a peak at the nomination and then everyone stops watching suddenly because they're sick of it and they go back to nonpolitical life for a couple days. If she'd announced Kaine last night, it would have been huge. Announcing it today is like yelling it to an empty reception hall... everyone is at the beach or movies or making sex tapes already.

So basically, Hillary threw her biggest announcement into an attention vacuum right after an attention sucking hurricane passed through town the day before. She is horrible at politics!

I generally support the police but over the last few decades it is clear that our police forces have been militarized. This is a perfect example of shoot first tactics. The idea of calling SWAT for attempted suicide is insane. How does bringing more guns calms the situation.

The broken windows approach actually makes the police a part of the community. They are to "walk the beat" and talk to people in the community. Police work is difficult but there needs to be a change in attitude away from the military heavy approach.

I'm with you Koshcat. My dad and brother were both lawmen. I'm a big supporter of the police, but this "tacti-cool" stuff is overboard. I see county deputies here in the Ozarks decked out in military style uniforms with bloused pants over combat boots and guns carried in drop-leg holsters...Really? My dad didn't even like cops carrying guns openly, he preferred they be hidden. The marshal of the little town I grew up in never carried a gun on him, he had a shotgun and a rifle in the trunk of his car; a pump 12 gauge and Winchester lever-action 30-30...they need a step back, but so do the people like BLM who are forever haranguing cops. If BLM cared so much about black people they would patrol their neighborhoods...

From the world of film, Ghostbusters continues to underwhelm. It's tracking Tarzan almost exactly, except overseas where it's doing really poorly. It also won't be released in China, interestingly, because the Chinese don't allow films they consider superstitious.

Ice Age bombed big time. I'm not surprised. No one paid any attention whenever the trailers came out.

Star Trek seems to have done well, though it did fall from the prior two.

Re: Wasserman-Schultz 1) She should have stepped down when the Dems lost the House in 2010, then lost the Senate in 2012, and most of the states in 2014. But now she will step down at the end of the convention after much wrangling and subterfuge to quiet the brewing scandal to sideline any controversy w/ the Sandernistas, and will join Hillary's campaign instead.

I don't want to link them all here but there have been some good trailers out of Comic-Con.

The Wonder Woman trailer looks insane, in a good way!

The Justice League trailer actually looks like they were paying attention to the criticism about the darkness of Batman v. Superman. It looks like fun and I think someone smiled!

The promo for the new Trek series is okay. The creators said it was something they rushed together for Comic-Con. The show it called Star Trek: Discovery and the ship design looks like an unused Ralph McQuarrie concept from the 70s.

Oh, and Kurt Russell will be playing Star Lord's dad in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel. Sylvester Stallone is also in the cast which makes this an unofficial Tango & Cash reunion, which makes this the best movie ever! :-)